This invention relates to mailers and, in particular, to tri-fold mailers which are suitable for securing and protecting mailpieces, such as stress-sensitive articles, for safe handling by automated handling equipment.
The United States Postal Service utilizes high-speed automated handling equipment for sorting the large volumes of mail that it handles daily. To that end, the automated handling equipment utilizes pairs of vertical moving belts arranged in a network to grip and serially transport mailpieces. The moving belts convey the mailpieces at a linear velocity approaching 500 to 600 feet per minute. Each mailpiece is oriented in a vertical plane such that a three (3) inch edge portion of the mailpiece is gripped between the moving belts. A sensor/translator is provided adjacent to the moving belts for identifying a destination post office for each mailpiece. Mailpieces are sorted according to the destination post office and routed by the network of moving belts into assorted collection bins. Changes in direction of transported mail in automated handling equipment are accommodated by providing a drum over which the moving belts are trained at the point where the direction change is to occur. For example, if the mailpiece is moving linearly in a horizontal direction and it is desired to effect a directional change to a different horizontal direction, a drum mounted for rotation about a vertical axis is placed at the change-of-direction point in the path of travel of the opposed belts between which the mailpiece is gripped for transport. As the belts move about the rotating drum, the mailpiece travels through a curved path conforming to the drum periphery and emerges traveling between the moving belts in a new horizontal direction.
Conventional mailers are available for packaging breakable, frangible or stress-sensitive articles, such as compact disks or mini-compact disks, in a manner suited for handling by the automated handling equipment. Automation-compatible mailpieces must comply with postal regulations such as size requirements and address positioning while protecting the stress-sensitive article from damage during sorting by the automated handling equipment, Moreover, postal regulations require the mailer to be flexible enough to be bent and routed about the circumference of a cylindrical drum having an eleven (11) inch diameter and a height of about three (3) inches of the type used in automated handling systems at locations where directional changes occur in the travel path of the belts.
Stress-sensitive articles packaged in conventional mailers have a significant risk of breakage or damage as the mailer is bent about the circumference of the cylindrical drum. As the mailer is conveyed about the exterior of the drum, the stress-sensitive article must curve or bow and will experience a state of tension due to the flexure that can damage or even break the article. Moreover, conventional mailers position the stress-sensitive article such that the moving belts may apply a significant contact pressure to the article capable of damaging the surface of the stress-sensitive article so as to, for example, corrupt the information encoded thereon. Thus, because of these and other significant shortcomings, conventional mailers do not adequately safeguard stress-sensitive articles for handling by automated handling equipment used by the United States Postal Service.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mailer for a stress-sensitive article that can be handled by automated handling equipment and that fully complies with postal regulations while protecting the stress-sensitive article from damage during transit and sorting.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a mailer for a stress-sensitive article such that the mailer can be bent and transported about the circumference of the cylindrical drums used in automated handling equipment without damaging the article. A further objective of the present invention is to provide a mailer for a stress-sensitive article that positions the article such that the belts of the automated handling equipment do not contact the area of the mailer containing the article. A particular objective of the invention is to provide a mailer for a stress-sensitive article that can ensure damage-free handling by automated handling equipment of the postal service while securing the article during transit from a sender to a recipient.
According to the principles of the present invention, a mailer is provided having a substantially rectangular first panel with a pair of transversely-oriented free ends and a first and a second transverse fold line. The first and second fold lines have a spaced relationship between the free ends of the first panel so as to divide the first panel into a first and a second outer section positioned longitudinally on opposite sides of a middle section when the mailer is in an unfolded state. A second panel is attached to the first outer section of the first panel. A pocket is collectively defined between the first and second panels and is dimensioned to receive the stress-sensitive article therein. The pocket has an opening facing the first transverse fold line for insertion and removal of the article. To define a folded state for securing the stress-sensitive article, the first outer section is folded at the second transverse fold line over the middle section to sandwich the second panel therebetween. The second outer section is folded over the middle section with the first outer section and the second panel located therebetween for securing the stress-sensitive article such that the article is inaccessible from the exterior of the mailer.
These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description.